San Antonio Healthcare Group Plans Boot Camp for Healthtech Startups

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San Antonio—A life sciences professional development and advocacy group in San Antonio, The Health Cell, is hosting a three-day boot camp for researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who want to start or join a healthtech company.

The event is taking place from Friday, May 11 to Sunday, May 13, and will offer prospective executives mentorship and classes from local experts in medical, technology, and business fields, according to the organizer, The Health Cell, a life sciences and healthcare-focused group that was founded in 2013. The schedule includes classes on topics such as giving an elevator pitch, customer validation, and regulatory and legal issues in creating a healthtech company.

The Health Cell considers a healthtech startup “an early stage company that is focused on disrupting the healthcare industry using databases, web and mobile applications, and/or wearables to improve health.” The boot camp follows previous Health Cell events, such as a program in 2017 that aimed to help people in healthcare develop and pitch marketable products.

“The HealthTech Bootcamp was born from the idea of bringing together San Antonio’s burgeoning downtown tech scene with the well-established healthcare sector,” Cynthia Phelps, founder of a healthtech startup called HEALTHeDesigns and a director on the board of The Health Cell, wrote in an e-mail. “We want to build on this momentum while leveraging the culture of rapid business-ideation within the tech industry.”

San Antonio businesses, academic institutions, and other groups have been working to promote the city’s life sciences and tech industries for years, particularly focusing on startups in partnership with organizations such as The Health Cell, Geekdom, VelocityTX, and Tech Bloc. Similarly, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio frequently brings in high profile speakers to discuss topics like entrepreneurship and drug development, including last week, when long-time life sciences executive Chris Garabedian came to town from Boston.

The Health Cell’s “HealthTech Bootcamp” isn’t only for entrepreneurs, or people with an existing idea. The Health Cell says people looking to join a startup team should also attend. The event costs $150 to participate, or $75 for students. The event is taking place at Geekdom, the downtown co-working space.

At the end of the weekend, startup teams will be able to participate in a pitch competition. Top teams could win a variety of prizes, including complimentary legal services, and an undisclosed amount of cash, according to The Health Cell. The application deadline is May 1.

David Holley is Xconomy's national correspondent based in Austin, TX. You can reach him at dholley@xconomy.com Follow @xconholley